Title: Confucius's Aesthetic Concept of Noble Man: Beyond Moralism
Abstract: Abstract The prevailing interpretation of ren (humanness) in the Analects is ethical. One consequence of this interpretation is the one-dimensional image of the Confucian junzi (noble man) as a rigid moralist, a fastidious observer of li (ritual). But there are numerous passages in the Analects that resist such a one-sided representation of the junzi, especially Confucius's remarks related to the (Book of) Songs and music. My basic thesis is that Confucius's concept of junji is aesthetic. This is implied by his notion of junji ru (noble scholar) as opposed to xiaoren ru (common scholar). The noble man is one awakened to the beauty of humanness. It is because of this awareness that he ‘sets his mind on the Way, depends on virtue, relies on ren and enjoys the arts.’ Confucius included the Songs and music in his curriculum precisely for the purpose of cultivating in his pupils this aesthetic sensibility. Notes Notes [1] For a broad survey of the history of interpretations of ren, see Chan (Citation1975, pp. 107–129). [2] The numbering of the book/chapter of a passage from the Analects follows James Legge's in his translation of the text (Citation1971). [3] Some Japanese commentators do interpret ren in the sense of ‘humanness’. However, they invariably revert to an ethical interpretation of the term. See e.g. Kimura (Citation1975, pp. 549–550, 554); Kaizuka (Citation1987, p. 7). [4] See Chan (Citation1975, p. 107). [5] Ch. 20. [6] See 7B:16. [7] 6A:11. It is granted that Mencius's own concept of ren is essentially ethical, as evident in his teaching of ren yi li zhi (). Perhaps, one may attribute the traditional, ethical reading of ren to the ascendance of his idealistic school in the development of Confucianism. [8] See Waley (Citation1938, p. 27); Graham (Citation1989, p. 19). [9] See Chan (Citation1975, p. 125). [10] Hence, one might say, the small man's (xiaoren's) joyless morality and the noble man's (junzi's) joyous morality. [11] 6:9. [12] See 16:5. [13] Commenting on this saying, Zhu Xi writes: ‘The beautiful [mei] is the blooming of the voice and figure. The good [shan] is the fruit/truth [shi ] of the beautiful [mei].’ See KT, Vol. 1, BK 1, Ch. 2. (All references to Zhu Xi are to his commentary on the Analects, Lun Yu Ji Zhu.) This is a good example of an attempt to assimilate the ‘beautiful’ to the ‘good’. In his comment, Qian Mu explains the ‘beautiful’ as ‘what the voice and figure exhibit outwardly’ and the ‘good’ as ‘what the voice and figure hold inside’. See Qian (Citation1956), p. 105. [14] For example, see Kimura (Citation1975, pp. 549–551). Kimura, while interpreting ren as ‘humanness’, identifies it as ‘the good in general’ (p. 551). Waley translates ren as ‘Goodness’. In his translation of the passage in question, he translates jin shan as ‘perfect goodness’, thereby in effect equating jin shan and ren. See Waley (Citation1938, p. 101). [15] See e.g. 3:20; 3:23; 3:25; 8:15; 9:30. [16] See 16:13. [17] 2:2. The cited phrase comes from one of the Songs belonging to ‘Songs of Lu’ (Lu Song), in which its meaning is different. [18] 3:23. [19] 8:15. The meaning of the phrase guan ju zhi shi in the original text is unclear. I follow Waley's translation. See Kaizuka (Citation1987, pp. 225–226); Kanaya (Citation1988, p. 112). [20] In 7:24, culture (wen) is mentioned as one of the four subjects that Confucius taught, along with conduct (xing), loyalty (zhong) and truthfulness (xin). [21] 9:5. [22] See 7:13. [23] See Shi Ji, ch. 47. The incident is most probably the one mentioned in 15:1. [24] 7:18. It seems only natural to interpret Confucius in this saying to be expressing his passionate nature. However, commentators tend to read it as his expression of his passion specifically for learning. In his comment, Kanaya writes: ‘His personality is such that when he is stirred up [in study], he forgets his meals, and when he enjoys [the Way] he forgets his worries’ (brackets in text). See Kanaya (Citation1988), p. 97. Qian writes: ‘With more to acquire in study, he is stirred up and forgets his meals; having gained in study, he forgets his worries out of joy.’ See Qian (Citation1956, p. 239). I find this kind of interpretation forced or arbitrary. As a matter of fact, the episode of Confucius's forgetting the taste of meat after listening to the Shao appears only five sayings before this one (7:18)! In that earlier saying (7:13), Confucius exclaims (in its latter part): ‘I have never imagined that a piece of music could reach this [height]!’ Why must one understand that his passion is only limited to learning? [25] 9:30. The song referred to is not included in the extant text of the Songs. [26] 3:8. I use Waley's translation of the lines cited from the Songs with a minor modification. [27] In this opening chapter (after expressing his joy of learning and practice and of having a friend coming from afar), he continues: ‘Is he not after all a junzi who remains unperturbed though no one recognizes him?’ [28] Zhu Xi calls the study of each of the three subjects the ‘beginning’, the ‘middle’ and the ‘end’ of the ‘learner’ (xuezhe). See KT, Vol. 1, BK. 1, Ch. 8. Qian also follows this view. See Qian (Citation1956, pp. 274–275). It seems that the Japanese commentators generally move away from this narrow interpretation of the passage, though using still the same ethical language. The result, however, tends to be too abstract or vague. See Kimura (Citation1975, pp. 195–196); Kaizuka (Citation1987, pp. 219–220); Kanaya (Citation1988, pp. 109–110). [29] Commenting on this part, Zhu Xi notes that the Songs ‘arouses the mind that loves the good [shan] and abhors the bad [o ]’. See KT, Vol. 1, BK. 1, Ch. 8. [30] According to Zhu Xi, the learner comes to ‘distinguish himself’ (zhuo ran zi li) by studying ritual. See KT, Vol. 1, BK 1, Ch. 8. See also Qian (Citation1956, p. 274). [31] Qian reads cheng (‘completion’) to mean ‘the completion of learning’ (xue zhi cheng ). See Qian (Citation1956, p. 274). See also Kimura (Citation1975, p. 196); Kaizuka (Citation1987, p. 220). Kong An-guo reads cheng to mean ‘the completion of one's [i.e. presumably, the learner's] nature’ (cheng xing ). Zhu Xi takes cheng to mean ‘the completion of the material [i.e. the learner's potentialities]’ (cheng cai ). See KT, Vol. 1, BK. 1, Ch. 8. [32] 15:41. [33] See 9:9: ‘Whenever the Master chanced to meet anyone in a mourning dress, or anyone with the ceremonial headdress and gown, or a blind man, even if he were younger than himself, he would invariably rise to his feet, and if he had to pass by him, he would do so invariably in quick steps.’ Why did Confucius pay his respect toward every blind man? Was it not because of his reverence for Music-masters, who were all blind? [34] Wu dao yi yi guan zhi zai.
Publication Year: 2006
Publication Date: 2006-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 16
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